Ana Rosa Santiago is SVP of Latin Music for Universal Music Publishing Group in the U.S. and Latin America. Her acumen for discovering and nurturing talent was instrumental in transforming underground artists from Puerto Rico into global pop stars. The Miami-based exec signed Feid, Romeo Santos and Ivan Cornejo, to name but a few.
In addition to her current role at UMPG, her track record also includes a stint with peermusic’s Latin division, and nearly two decades at ASCAP, where she directed operations in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean and discovered, among many others, Daddy Yankee, Luis Fonsi, Farruko, Pedro Capó and Kany García.
Before living in Miami, where was home for you?
I am Puerto Rican, born and raised. Nine years ago, I moved out of Puerto Rico for the first time in my life, to come to come to Miami and work at UMPG.
When you were growing up, did you have a strong connection to music?
Being Puerto Rican, music is a big part of our lives. Births, deaths, everything is a celebration with music. I like to say if you shake any tree in Puerto Rico, dancers, singers and musicians all fall out. We are a very musical culture, and in my family, our gatherings were always surrounded by music. Whenever there was a party, an uncle would start singing and then everyone would join in. The music is in me. I can’t help it.
What were your biggest musical influences growing up?
My godfather was a musician and a writer, and of course in Puerto Rico, salsa is everywhere. Every time my mother would clean the house, it was all about artists like Rafael, José José and El Trio Los Condes. In addition to salsa there were boleros, and of course, American music was a big part of my life. I liked Journey and Def Leppard. Back then you had to choose. You were either a “rockera” or you were into salsa. I remember hiding the fact that I would listen to people like Rubén Blades even though I was influenced by American music.
Who were some of your other favorite rock bands?
I loved Guns N’ Roses and AC/DC. I studied in a Catholic school run by nuns, and it was prohibited to listen to heavy metal, but I was always a rebel. I was very influenced by rock, and growing up with Latin music, with all the feeling in the lyrics, and those melodies that were totally different from the American music, gave me the best of both worlds. My ears were trained by two totally different types of music.
What were your first concerts growing up?
Because I was in Puerto Rico, my first concert had to be Menudo. I also went with my mom to see José José, Ednita Nazario and those types of artists. When I got older, I saw Bon Jovi, Ratt and Air Supply. We had a lot of good concerts in Puerto Rico, and I went to all of them. The first time I traveled for a concert was when I was in college, to see Madonna in New York.
During your formative years, did you have any inkling of the music business or any kind of aspiration to enter the entertainment business?
I never thought I’d be in music. I always said I was going to be a pediatrician. My best friend’s dad, a psychiatrist, asked me, “You want to be a kids’ doctor?” I told him yes. Then he said, “You know that kids die, right? Some kids get very sick. Are you going be able to handle that?” I thought, “Oh my God, I need to think about doing something else.” Then a friend of mine had a cousin visiting her from UCLA who was studying film and TV. When we started talking about the program at UCLA, I realized that the entertainment business could be a good thing for me.
In Puerto Rico, writing used to be a casual, bohemian type of thing. At the time they were composing these songs, nobody was thinking of the importance of the copyright. It was more like, 'You're my friend—take this bottle of rum; let's have fun, and write a song together.'
It makes sense that UCLA would have a robust entertainment-industry curriculum, but how do you attain that knowledge on an island like Puerto Rico?
We didn’t have a film and TV program in Puerto Rico back then. Instead, I went to college and while I was a student, I took an entertainment law class, which I liked a lot. That class got me searching for related things. Right after I earned my bachelor’s degree in in communications, I started working for Distribuidora Aponte, which was the biggest music distributor in the Caribbean. I got the job in the early ’90s and started selling CDs and cassettes. We sold a lot of Olga Tañon, Luis Miguel, Manny Manuel and artists like that. But then, under the counter, we were starting to sell artists like The Noise, Nicky Jam and Daddy Yankee.
How big was reggaeton at that time?
It was definitely underground. I would get phone calls from the trade magazines asking what we were selling. I noticed these records in our stores weren’t actually on the charts, but we kept selling and seeing reggaeton grow more and more in popularity. This was also a time when the genre was literally banned in Puerto Rico. That changed once the parental advisory sticker was put on those releases.
From left, Santiago, UMPG Managing Director Mexico and Central America Yadira Moreno, Songwriter of the Year Xavi, UMPG CEO Jody Gerson, UMPG President Latin America and U.S. Latin Alexandra Lioutikoff and Interscope Capitol Labels Group EVP Nir Seroussi at the 2025 ASCAP Latin Music Awards
How do you eventually transition out of music sales and into music publishing?
Another friend of mine was working at peermusic in Puerto Rico, and she received an offer from a record label, requiring her to move to New York. She asked me if I would want to join peer in Puerto Rico, and that was my first experience in publishing, working with writers, producers and singers. In 1994 I came in as the assistant for the managing director, Hiram Negrón.
Tell us about the publishing business in Puerto Rico in those days.
Peermusic had a strong catalog with some of the most important writers from Puerto Rico, like Pedro Flores, Rafael Hernandez and Silvia Rexach. I not only got to know the music, but also the stories behind some of the songs. In Puerto Rico, writing used to be a casual, bohemian type of thing. At the time they were composing these songs, nobody was thinking of the importance of the copyright. It was more like, “You’re my friend—take this bottle of rum; let’s have fun, and write a song together.” I also got to work projects with the catalog. For example, one of the biggest banks in Puerto Rico, Banco Popular, would sponsor a show in December that was on every TV channel in Puerto Rico. It was the show where Marc Anthony first sang the song, “Preciosa,” which we published, and it took him to a whole different level in his career.
What was your next move after peer?
My boss mentioned that ASCAP was looking for someone in their Puerto Rico office. The first person who interviewed me was Loretta Muñoz. ASCAP then hired Alexandra Lioutikoff to head up Latin. Loretta urged Alexandra to interview me as well. She did and I was hired on a Thursday. Alexandra asked if I could start working right away and I told her of course. That weekend I found out I was pregnant! I called Alexandra and assured her I would be back to work within three weeks of having my baby. She said, “Okay,” and that was it. Twenty-eight years later, I’m still working with Alexandra Lioutikoff.
Santiago, Alexandra Lioutikoff and Romeo Santos
When you arrived at ASCAP, what was your first order of business?
All the reggaeton and urban music was starting to bubble up. At the time, none of these guys, and I mean absolutely zero, knew anything about rights, copyright, PROS, publishing or anything like that. My mission became educating them about their rights as writers, collaborators and producers. When they signed with me, they all had independent publishing. Major publishers were not looking at them because they didn’t have radio. It was all raw music that was selling but on independent labels; major labels weren’t signing them either. Then “Gasolina” came out, and it was not only on Puerto Rican radio, but it everywhere. I even got to hear “Gasolina” in Mandarin.
Was “Gasolina” when reggaeton and urban Latin music officially arrived?
It was, and now everybody wanted their picture with Daddy Yankee, everybody wanted to interview Daddy Yankee, and then he’s making a movie and collaborating with Snoop Dogg. Not only was Daddy Yankee experiencing success, but so were artists like Wisin & Yandel, Don Omar and Farruko. I was a part of this community from the beginning, when they were struggling and people didn’t care about them, and suddenly everyone thinks they’re amazing. I knew this was a moment for our little island and this underground genre. It became pop, and it became global.
From left, Feid, Santiago and Jowan y Rolo at—we're guessing here—an ASCAP event
How do you transition from ASCAP to your current job at Universal Music Publishing Group?
I worked at ASCAP for 18 years but I wanted to do something more. At the same time, Alexandra was hired by Jody Gerson to head up the Latin division for UMPG. Alexandra asked me if a position ever opened up, would I be interested to move to Miami and work with her at UMPG? Once a position did open up, I had a talk with my family and we made the decision to move. I started working with Alexandra in Miami at UMPG in 2016, as the VP for Latin music and sync.
You moved from a PRO to a creative role at a publishing company. How different was that for you?
When I arrived in Miami, UMPG Latino did not have a big roster. We had great artists and catalog like Emilio Estefan, Gloria Estefan and Jorge Luis Piloto, but I wasn’t able to work with them because urban Latin was what was happening, and you can’t make a reggaeton record with the writers we had. There weren’t a lot of contemporary writers on the roster.
I realized my main mission was to sign writers and producers on the urban side and create my own roster. I reached out to my network and began signing people and started my own sessions.
Who are some of your signings at UMPG you’re most proud of?
One of the first writers I signed was Álvaro Díaz. Álvaro’s music is very interesting because he’s urban, but he’s more like alternative urban. It’s not straight-ahead reggaeton or hip-hop. He mixes genres. I’ve seen him grow from playing a festival during the day in front of not many people to selling out two shows at the Choliseo, which holds 18,000. I was so happy to see that because he and his team have worked so incredibly hard.
From the time I was at ASCAP, I recognized a writer named Feid who wrote a couple of important J Balvin songs. He and his team, producers Rolo and Jowan, are amazing. I signed them and we shared a great rapport. One day Feid came to me and said, “Ana Rosa, I’m not just a writer; I’m also an artist.” I said, “Of course I will help you with that. But keep giving me songs I can pitch.” He then sent me two batches of songs, one for pitching and one for his artist project. One of the A&Rs at Sony called me looking for songs for CNCO. I accidentally sent the batch of artist songs and of course the A&R wanted one of the songs.
I called Feid and told him how sorry I was for pitching the wrong song, which turned out to be his favorite song for his own project. At that point I had to be an executive, and while I totally understood how he felt, from a business perspective I told him he would get way more from this song if CNCO cut it. Feid is the best guy ever and said he trusted me. I assured him it would be a single and that song was “mamita,” which turned out to be a massive hit that stayed on the charts for months. In the end, it was a good mistake, and things happen for a reason. Feid kept growing as an artist, and now he’s one of the top artists not only in the Latin world, but on the global charts too.
Another artist I really like is Ivan Cornejo who is Mexican American. He was born in California to Mexican parents, and he sings in Spanish. It’s not typical regional music. I call it “sad regional songs.” He’s signed to Interscope and is a very interesting artist and a great writer.
How long have you been involved with the Latin Recording Academy (LARAS)?
I’ve been involved since I was still in Puerto Rico. At first, I was reaching out to my network, telling them about LARAS and encouraging them to be members. Twelve years ago, I was invited to be a part of the Florida chapter as a governor. Even though I was living in Puerto Rico, the Florida chapter also gets a chair from Puerto Rico. I educate people about the Academy, because people tend to think of it only in connection with the Grammys—they don’t understand the importance of the Academy for advocacy and for things like MusiCares.
The UMPG Miami team ordering mas mezcal shots, por favor, at El Premio ASCAP 2024
Tell us about your work with She Is the Music and Women in Music.
When you have certain knowledge and a position where you know a little bit more than the next person, that comes with a responsibility to help other people, especially in the Latin industry. It can be a real boys’ club, for sure. These organizations are very important, because for me, it’s not about, “We need to put a woman in a position for inclusion.” That’s not the message. The message is, “We are putting a woman in that position because she’s freaking great and will do a great job.” It doesn’t matter if it’s a woman or a man, but at the same time we need to let the industry know women can do the job.
Who were some of your mentors?
I’ve been very lucky to have wonderful mentors in my career. Early on, I had a great mentor in Hiram Negrón. He saw something in me right at the beginning of my career. More recently, I’ll always be very grateful for executives like Alexandra Lioutikoff and Jody Gerson. Not many people get to work with the first global chairwoman in the music industry. I will always appreciate that and of course, I’ve been working with Alexandra forever. She’s like my second marriage.
What do you love most about music publishing?
I fell in love with publishing quickly because without the song, you have nothing. You don’t have a music industry, and you don’t have radio. Writers are the only people in the industry who don’t know how much power they have. They need to be protected, and I became a sort of police for them, a very fierce protector. Writing is a gift. Not everybody can do that. You must respect that gift and make other people respect it.